Communication: Broadband and ultrasensitive femtosecond time-resolved circular dichroism spectroscopy

We report the development of broadband and sensitive time-resolved circular dichroism (TRCD) spectroscopy by exploiting optical heterodyne detection. Using this method, transient CD signals of submillidegree level can be detected over the spectral range of 415-730 nm. We also demonstrate that the broadband measurement with the aid of singular value decomposition enables the discrimination of genuine TRCD signals from artificial optical-anisotropy, such as linear birefringence and linear dichroism, induced by photoexcitation.